All Rise...

Editor's Note

The Charge

Based on her true story.

Opening Statement

The Passion of Joan of Arc is a long recognized masterpiece of the silent
genre. Largely based on the transcripts from the trial of Joan of Arc in the
Fifteenth Century, the film goes above and beyond that of any silent film I have
ever seen. Its power to move is universal and it will affect you in myriad
ways.

The Evidence

The Passion of Joan of Arc is unlike any telling of her story you are
likely to see—and for more than one reason. The first and foremost is that
it tells only the story of her trial before the church and University of
Paris powers, while skipping entirely the background of how she came to be put
on trial for heresy. From that standpoint, the film assumes, to a certain
degree, a minimum level of familiarity with the story on the part of the viewer.
Not that the film is unwatchable if you are unfamiliar with the
story—quite the contrary. I only make the point to dispel any rumors that
this is just another Joan of Arc movie, because its not. The second way in which
this film is far different from any other is the way it was shot.

The story compresses the 20+ days of interrogation Joan faced into
eighty-two minutes and follows the five act traditional layout of a classical
tragedy. It is shot more like a play than a traditional film, with each reel
corresponding with an act, and taking place in a single setting. The first act
transpires in the courtroom where her inquisitors first question Joan. The act
serves as a setup of sorts, dictating the tone of what is to come. What follows
is the Church's every attempt at tricking Joan into recanting, and further
pressuring her to make a full confession. She is tricked with a forged letter
from her King. She is threatened with torture in the torture chamber. She is
bled due to a "fever." Eventually, pressured by a crowd in a public
square, she recants her story and is sentenced to a lifetime of prison. Shortly
thereafter, she changes her mind and takes confession and communion and is
burned at the stake for a heretic.

The creator of this masterpiece is the driving force behind the power of the
film. Carl Theodore Dreyer is a Danish filmmaker who wrote and directed films
from around 1920 up until 1964. His perfectionist style and strive for realism
dogged him throughout his career, and caused his work to be rather intermittent.
But it is exactly this style and his intense drive for realism that makes this
film so powerful. I believe he has a kindred spirit of sorts in William
Friedkin. Imagine the stories that have come out of the shooting of the Exorcist
and you'll know what I mean. Friedkin kept the set extraordinarily cold to get
the breath of the actors evaporating into the air. There are also stories of
Ellen Burstyn being injured as she was violently tossed about the room, creating
a serious reaction to her pain that was used in the film. Likewise, Dreyer
forced his star Maria Falconetti to actually cut her hair during the shearing
scene in order to film her reaction. A stand-in was also used during the
bloodletting scene, because it was REAL!

Dreyer spent 9 million francs on the production, most of it on a highly
elaborate set which is barely and rarely seen. He insisted on its construction
nevertheless to create the sense of religiosity for his actors. He also insisted
his actors shave the tops of their heads during the entire film shoot even
though most of them wore skullcaps over the bald spot. He would work with
Falconetti ceaselessly to get the right mood and reaction from her in almost
every scene, which is by and large why the production ran for more than six
months.

However, the most interesting part of the film itself is the way it was
shot. Dreyer almost exclusively uses full frame close-ups to convey the power of
the moment. He mates these close-ups with several different extreme angles and
innovative shots to great effect. Imagine more than 80% of the movie being a
face, or part of a face or a head and shoulders or a torso, and you are getting
close to describing the film. In this way, he has captured the reactions of
Falconetti's Joan in a most powerful way. She is so clearly one of the finest
silent film actors I have ever seen, she seems to be in a league of her own. I
am certain a large degree of my feeling for her ability is influenced in the way
this film was shot. Her expressiveness reminds me, in a perverted way of the
ability displayed by Giulietta Masina in Nights
of Cabiria, except that Cabiria's sense of joy and playfulness here is
transformed to pain and a lack of understanding and a struggling for strength to
do the right thing.

The film has largely been missing from the public stage until now. Butchered
and censored on its original release, Dreyer's original cut of the film was seen
publicly only a few times. The original elements were thought to be lost to fire
long ago. As a result, Dreyer went back and re-made the film from alternate cuts
that were still available. It was only when this original version was found in a
Norwegian mental institution closet in 1981 that it was thought the world might
finally see Dreyer's original intent. Now, Criterion has seized the opportunity
and digitally remastered the Norwegian print for this outstanding DVD
edition.

The video on this disc is wonderful, especially when compared to the actual
print found in 1981. The remastering work that was done is splendid. There is
naturally a bit of noise left on the film, but it looks far and away better than
most silent films I have seen before. Only "stunning" can begin to
describe the way this disc looks. Presented in its original black and white,
full frame aspect ratio the film itself looks great.

There is no real audio to speak of with this disc, except in the department
of extras. The disc includes Richard Einhorn's Voices of Light, a choral and
orchestral work that he was inspired to write by viewing the film, as well as a
libretto for the work and an essay and video essay on the musical work by
Einhorn himself. It also includes an audio essay by Dreyer scholar Casper
Tybjerg from the University of Copenhagen. Almost a commentary track or sorts I
highly recommend this track along with the film at least once preferably the
second time around. Also included on the disc are an extensive production design
archive, a history of the films many versions with illustrative video clips,
examples of the digital restoration, and an audio interview with Falconetti's
daughter Helene.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

There is nothing negative about this disc. Perhaps a nice comparison to some
other Joan of Arc works could have been included, but all in all, this disc is
as complete as any I have seen. Perhaps another commentary track would have been
in order, but really, how can I complain.

Closing Statement

The Passion of Joan of Arc is a triumph and a showcase of Carl Dreyer's
talent and moviemaking ability. A precursor of many techniques used today by
equally successful directors, he seems to be a man largely before his time.
Thankfully, we are now blessed with this pristine example of his work, and no
fire will ever be able to take that away. If you are a film fan, you must see
this film. Buy it, rent it, borrow it—I don't care. This disc is as good
as any silent film I have ever seen. Period.

The Verdict

The film and disc are acquitted. The judge rules that the prosecutor be
burned at the stake for even bringing such ridiculous charges.

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Perp Profile

Distinguishing Marks

• Richard Einhorn's Voices of Light
• Commentary Track by Casper Tybjerg
• Production Design Archive
• A History of the Film's versions, with clips
• Audio Interview Excerpts with Helene Falconetti
• Audio Essay by Richard Einhorn on Joan of Arc and Voices of Light
• Video Essay on the production of Voices of Light
• Voices of Light Libretto Booklet